Press Play with Madeleine Brand: California case: free speech v. abortion rightsCrisis pregnancy centers are generally run by pro-life groups that aim to convince pregnant women not to get abortions. A California law requires that employees tell their clients that the state offers free and low-cost abortions and other family planning services. Now a group of these centers is arguing that the law violates their freedom of speech.

UnFictionalUnbelievably true stories of chance encounters that changed the world. A pair of mail-order shoes that led to the film The Outsiders. A secret road to a California paradise. The day LA and smog first met. Stories that will stick in your head like a memory. It’s UnFictional, hosted by Bob Carlson.

The DocumentThe Document is a new kind of mash-up between documentaries and radio. It goes beyond clips and interviews, mining great stories from the raw footage of documentaries present, past and in-progress. A new episode is available every other Wednesday on iTunes and wherever fine podcasts are downloaded.

To the PointA weekly reality-check on the issues Americans care about most. Host Warren Olney draws on his decades of experience to explore the people and issues shaping – and disrupting - our world. How did everything change so fast? Where are we headed? The conversations are informal, edgy and always informative. If Warren's asking, you want to know the answer.

How director Jordan Peele embraced fear to make ‘Get Out’

A year ago, a satirical horror film about race relations in America would not have sounded like an idea for a hit movie. But ‘Get Out’ was a box-office smash and it’s nominated for 4 Oscars, including best picture. Jordan Peele is also nominated for best director and best original screenplay--not bad for someone making his directorial debut. Peele tells us about the years-long process of getting to ‘Get Out.’

FROM THIS EPISODE

Jordan Peele had success as an actor, writer and sketch comedian. But he’d never directed a movie before he made ‘Get Out’ and he admits--he felt some crippling fear. So he asked Ben Affleck for advice. Affleck told Peele to embrace the fear, and the strategy worked: Peele’s film has 4 Oscar nominations, including best picture and best director. Peele tells us about the years-long process that went into making a horror film about race, and about blowing up the notion that black films don’t cross over.

Thomas Schumacher, president of Disney Theatrical Group, has been accused of inappropriate workplace conduct just as ‘Frozen’ opens on Broadway. It appears that Disney had heard complaints about Schumacher as far back as 1994, but it’s unclear if the company ever took any serious action.

Fox News is planning to launch a streaming service to appeal to “superfans.” However, most Fox News viewers are over the age of 60, so it’s not a sure thing that they’ll rush to embrace a streaming service.

‘GetOut’ is not your typical Oscar film--it’s a low-budget horror movie from a first-time director. Yet the clever and creepy social satire was a smashing success at the box office and is now in Oscar contention in 4 big categories: best picture, best director, best original screenplay and best actor.

Jordan Peele, the writer and director of ‘Get Out’ is our guest today. Before this movie, he was best known as half of the Comedy Central duo ‘Key & Peele.’ Long before that show debuted in 2012, Peele was at work on the script for ‘Get Out.’

He tells us how the 2008 presidential election got him thinking about the ideas that would become the basis for the film, and the years-long process of getting ‘Get Out’ made.

Peele admits that even though he had lots of experience acting and writing, he did face quite a bit of fear as a first-time director. He explains how he ended up being in a limo with Ben Affleck and asking him for advice.

When we recorded this interview, mega-hit ‘Black Panther’ was just about to open, so Peele also talks about this moment in the industry in terms of representation for black filmmakers. Recent films like ‘Straight Outta Compton,’ ‘Girls Trip,’ and Peele’s own movie have proved that black-led films can be international successes and marketed to a broad audience.

And with this year’s nominations, Peele is making Oscar history. Only three first-time directors have landed that trifecta of nominations of best picture, best director, and best original screenplay, and Peele is the first African-American to have pulled it off.